\Fa"ther\, n. [OE. fader, AS. f[ae]der; akin to OS.
fadar, D. vader, OHG. fatar, G. vater, Icel. Fa?ir Sw. & Dan.
fader, OIr. athir, L. pater, Gr. ?????, Skr. pitr, perh. fr.
Skr. p[=a] protect. ???,???. Cf. {Papa}, {Paternal},
{Patriot}, {Potential}, {Pablum}.]
1. One who has begotten a child, whether son or daughter; a
generator; a male parent.
A wise son maketh a glad father. --Prov. x. 1.
2. A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor;
especially, a first ancestor; a founder of a race or
family; -- in the plural, fathers, ancestors.
David slept with his fathers. --1 Kings ii.
10.
Abraham, who is the father of us all. --Rom. iv. 16.
3. One who performs the offices of a parent by maintenance,
affetionate care, counsel, or protection.
I was a father to the poor. --Job xxix.
16.
He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all
his house. --Gen. xiv. 8.
4. A respectful mode of address to an old man.
And Joash the king og Israel came down unto him
[Elisha], . . . and said, O my father, my father!
--2 Kings
xiii. 14.
5. A senator of ancient Rome.
6. A dignitary of the church, a superior of a convent, a
confessor (called also {father confessor}), or a priest;
also, the eldest member of a profession, or of a
legislative assembly, etc.
Bless you, good father friar ! --Shak.
7. One of the chief esslesiastical authorities of the first
centuries after Christ; -- often spoken of collectively as
the Fathers; as, the Latin, Greek, or apostolic Fathers.
8. One who, or that which, gives origin; an originator; a
producer, author, or contriver; the first to practice any
art, profession, or occupation; a distinguished example or
teacher.
The father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
--Gen. iv. 21.
Might be the father, Harry, to that thought. --Shak.
The father of good news. --Shak.
9. The Supreme Being and Creator; God; in theology, the first
person in the Trinity.
Our Father, which art in heaven. --Matt. vi. 9.
Now had the almighty Father from above . . . Bent
down his eye. --Milton.
{Adoptive father}, one who adopts the child of another,
treating it as his own.
{Apostolic father}, {Conscript fathers, etc.} See under
{Apostolic}, {Conscript}, etc.
{Father in God}, a title given to bishops.
{Father of lies}, the Devil.
{Father of the bar}, the oldest practitioner at the bar.
{Fathers of the city}, the aldermen.
{Father of the Faithful}.
(a) Abraham. --Rom. iv. --Gal. iii. 6-9.
(b) Mohammed, or one of the sultans, his successors.
{Father of the house}, the member of a legislative body who
has had the longest continuous service.
{Most Reverend Father in God}, a title given to archbishops
and metropolitans, as to the archbishops of Canterbury and
York.
{Natural father}, the father of an illegitimate child.
{Putative father}, one who is presumed to be the father of an
illegitimate child; the supposed father.
{Spiritual father}.
(a) A religious teacher or guide, esp. one instrumental in
leading a soul to God.
(b) (R. C. Ch.) A priest who hears confession in the
sacrament of penance.
{The Holy Father} (R. C. Ch.), the pope.

\Fa"ther\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fathered}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Fathering}.]
1. To make one's self the father of; to beget.
Cowards father cowards, and base things sire base.
--Shak.
2. To take as one's own child; to adopt; hence, to assume as
one's own work; to acknowledge one's self author of or
responsible for (a statement, policy, etc.).
Men of wit Often fathered what he writ. --Swift.
3. To provide with a father. [R.]
Think you I am no stronger than my sex, Being so
fathered and so husbanded ? --Shak.
{To father on} or {upon}, to ascribe to, or charge upon, as
one's offspring or work; to put or lay upon as being
responsible. ``Nothing can be so uncouth or extravagant,
which may not be fathered on some fetch of wit, or some
caprice of humor.'' --Barrow.

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Dream Dictionary

Definition:

Seeing your father in your dream, symbolizes authority and protection. It suggests that you need to be more self-reliant. Consider also your waking relationship with your father.
Dreaming that your father is dead, forewarns that you need to proceed with caution in conducting your business.
Dreaming that you are hitting your father. represents a desperate need for greater closeness with your father. You feel that he is not listening to you. In particular, if you are hitting your father with a rubber object indicates that whatever you are doing or telling him has no significant effect on him. Things just literally bounces off him.

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Easton Bible Dictionary

Definition:

a name applied (1) to any ancestor (Deut. 1:11; 1 Kings 15:11; Matt. 3:9; 23:30, etc.); and (2) as a title of respect to a chief, ruler, or elder, etc. (Judg. 17:10; 18:19; 1 Sam. 10:12; 2 Kings 2:12; Matt. 23:9, etc.). (3) The author or beginner of anything is also so called; e.g., Jabal and Jubal (Gen. 4:20, 21; comp. Job 38:28).